MTV Games to sell Rock Band developer

MTV Games’ parent company Viacom is set to sell off Rock Band and Dance Central developer Harmonix, with a question mark now hanging over how long support for both games will last.

Rock Band 3 – not top of the pops

Harmonix was the original developers of Guitar Hero, but in 2006 MTV Games acquired them for a cool $175 million. They immediately set about creating the Rock Band series, but although it is widely regarded as being superior (although still very similar to) the newer Guitar Hero games it has never sold anywhere near as well.Viacom has now classified Harmonix as a ‘discontinued operation’. We’re not sure what that means exactly, but it doesn’t sound good.’We expect that [sale] to be completed expeditiously. We’ll announce the results when the deal is concluded. The proceeds will go into our back account and then we’ll deploy it,’ said a Viacom exec.’This morning’s announcement does not affect the ongoing work at the studio as we continue to support our existing franchises, Rock Band and Dance Central,’ said Harmonix spokesman John Drake on the official Rock Band forums .

‘As stated earlier, Viacom is in discussions with several potential buyers and will continue to fully support the business until a sale is completed,’ he added.The use of the world ‘until’ is worrying as it could mean that as soon as Harmonix is sold Rock Band 3 and Dance Central support will end. Although this will depend on whether Viacom is selling just Harmonix or all their game franchises as well. We’d assume it’s a job lot, but that’s not been confirmed.There’s also been no hint as to who might buy Harmonix, with Activision and Electronic Arts (who also distribute Rock Band) seen as front runners. Microsoft might also be interested, as they helped distribute Dance Central.There have been hints that Viacom weren’t happy with Harmonix for some time, after they sued t to get back $208.7 million in bonuses, after sales of Rock Band began to decline. The final straw was likely to have been The Beatles: Rock Band, which performed well below expectations and yet cost at least $10 million in licensing fees to make.Rock Band 3 was also an even bigger flop than usual, despite excellent reviews. The timing of Viacom’s announcement is perhaps a little unfortunate though as the new Dance Central was only out this week and is likely to do very well on Kinect.